1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hand tools and hand tool handles. Specifically, this invention relates to bladed hand tools such as cutlery, taping knives and putty knives.
2. Background and Discussion of the Prior Art
Bladed hand tools, such as cutlery, taping knives and putty knives, are often used in wet environments. Such knives are often fully submerged for cleaning. Present day knives are generally hollow handles formed of injection moldable hard plastic, such as glass-filed nylons and polyolefins. These hard plastic handles were undesirable for extensive professional use, insofar as they would cause callouses and fatigue. The knife art was also directed towards hollow lightweight plastic handles. When such hollow plastic handles are used, water tight seals had to be maintained around the joints in the component plastic parts, because water would otherwise seep or leak between the parts and into the hollow structure. The joints caused pinching of the hand. Manufacturing and final assembly practicalities generally precluded water tight seals at the joints.
One long tried approach to solve the problems of fatigue, pinching and water seepage was to provide a molded around soft outer plastic material which covered the joints and encased and secured the inner plastic handle parts. This well known construction is disclosed in Fr. 2,597,387 to Peppini; U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,304, granted Dec. 15, 1987 to Sanelli; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,445, granted Apr. 1, 1997 to Kelsay et al. The approach taken by Peppini, Sanelli and Kelsay et al relied on a soft plastic molded around outer layer to secure and seal the plastic handle parts. The soft outer plastic would however, with time and wear, thin and crack particularly at the joints. The art sought a more time and wear effective water tight construction, while nonetheless providing a comfortable, non-pinching hand grip. The present invention provides that solution.
A hand tool handle has two opposed interengaging first and second hollow molded plastic parts. Each part is formed with a molded over soft plastic grip portion. The parts are formed to be interengaged by opposed post and hole construction, with a tool blade disposed therebetween at the distal end. The first or upper part is formed with a peripheral lip and a juxtaposed inner peripheral surface. The second or lower part is formed with transversly disposed peripheral surfaces. The parts when interengaged have respective first and second peripheral surfaces in mating contact, with the first part peripheral lip covering and the contactingly engaging the second part peripheral surface. The peripheral lip and peripheral surfaces are free of the outer layer soft grip material. The peripheral lip extends from the proximate end of the handle along the sides and transversely of the distal end adjacent the blade securement portion. Rivets and a grommet provide a tight pressing seal of the lip and peripheral surfaces while securing the blade between the handle parts at the distal end.
The first and second handle parts are formed with structural ribs extending from about the distal end to the proximate end of the handle. The free ends of the respective structural ribs are facingly disposed, but slightly spaced from each other. This spaced disposition insures tight contacting seating of the peripheral lip and respective peripheral surfaces, when the parts are pressingly secured by the grommet and rivets. The structural ribs then do not interfere with but instead insure the desired tight peripheral seal. This peripheral lip construction also prevents pinching of the hand.
The assembled bladed hand tool provides a soft outer grip portion which prevents fatigue in extensive professional use, while providing a peripheral lip seal of the pressingly engaged first and second handle parts.